Annotation:College Bridge Reel
X:2 T:College Bridge Reel C:Bill Cormier M:4/4 L:1/8 R:Reel B:Jarman - Cornhuskers Series No 6: Jigs and Reels for Square Dancing (c. 1947) K:G |:DGBA GABG|...
COLLEGE BRIDGE REEL. Canadian, Reel (whole time). Canada, New Brunswick. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'B. "College Bridge Reel" was composed by New Brunswick fiddler Bill Cormier, who, along with his brothers, played for many years for the George Wade and His Cornhuskers band, who were popular from the 1920's and 40's. They were led by Manitoba caller George Wade (1895-1975), and were based in Toronto performing for dances in Ontario and Quebec. The large band (with three or four violins in addition to other instruments) was the prototype for bands such as Canadian radio and TV fiddler Don Messer's Islanders. The most famous member of the Cornhuskers was fiddler Jean Carignan (1916-1988), who toured with the group from 1933-1938, and who was present for their dozen recordings for RCA records.
The Cormiers were Francophone New Brunswickers, from Memramcook, Westmorland, Dorchester. His tune is named for the nearby community of College Bridge, New Brunswick, southeast of Moncton, near the border with Nova Scotia. The Collège Saint-Joseph was the first francophone university in the east of Canada, which opened its doors in 1864 and hosted/organized the first National Acadian Convention in 1881.
